Furniture Slider Prosthetic Legs

Lucky, a box turtle from Petaluma, California, lost both of his front legs in a raccoon attack. Now he’s walking again with the help of these furniture sliders attached to his shell. From the article:

(Lucky’s human companion Sally) Pyne was referred to (veterinary surgeon Robert) Jereb, who has worked on an assortment of animals over the years, including numerous turtles and tortoises whose shells are sometimes repaired with fiberglass, acrylic, Bondo, epoxies and other inorganic substances.

His approach to Lucky’s problem was inspired in part by a tortoise about whom he’d read that had a front leg replaced by a halved billiard ball glued to its front shell.

For Lucky, Jereb was thinking more along the lines of PVC pipe but was browsing for materials at a hardware store when he stumbled on the quarter-sized sliders or gliders he ultimately used.

The discs may later be glued on, though so far the tape seems to be working. If Lucky sluffs off shell surface, the discs may need periodic replacement.